Teaching Balance
by ImmortalScorpio
Summary: Ariella Potter thought her destiny fulfilled when she faced Voldemort, but she was wrong. She finds herself in another world were magic is different from hers and is told that she has to teach them about balance. But will they listin? femharry!


A/n: Hello. I just started to play Dragon Age 2 and this idea popped in my head. I hope you like it!

Warnings: This of course is a Fem harry. Snape will be a little ooc. Some swearing and violence.

**Teaching Balance**

**Chapter 1- Not Over Yet**

She knew what she had to do, though Prof. Snape was quite reluctant to tell her what it was. When he had found out what Dumbledore had planned for her four years ago he had told her to run, to hide. All he told her was that Dumbledore was lying to her, using her, that if she stayed it would cost her, her life. In the beginning she did not believe him, how could she, he had always given a very good impression of hating her. But apparently he was a very good actor. To prove to her he was telling the truth he showed her some of his memories. She was shocked, outraged, and hurt by what she had heard and saw.

It was his entire fault, all Dumbledore's fault. Her early life of practically living as a slave to her aunt and uncle, being a living punching bag to her cousin and his friends. She had always wondered why no one had helped her, they always said they would; the teachers at school, a few concerned good Samaritans, and even a few of the nosy neighbors said they were going to the police about her treatment at the Dursley's hands. But no one came, no one came to save her. He made sure of that, he erased their memories, all for the "greater good". So she could be molded into a perfect little soldier. Snape opened her eyes and she heeded his warning. She ran and hid for the past four years, but no longer. When she went into hiding Voldemort became stronger and his war spread. It had spread across the Atlantic to the United States where she had taken refuge and now he is threatening her new friends and home. She knew she had to end this and now she knew she was destined to end it.

All around her there was chaos, people screaming out in anger or pain, explosions from powerful spells, the groans and crying of the wounded and dying. But no one saw her underneath her father's cloak. She made her way to the forest behind her school of the past four years. She felt the trees distress at the invasion and they guided her to Voldemort's base camp. Surprisingly she was calm, despite what she knew must happen. As she walked through the forest the sound of battle became muffled and the wind through the tree leaves became the primary song of the night. As the wind whispered to her she thought of her friends and hoped that they will make it out of the battle alive. She heard the camp before she saw it. The harsh and wicked laughter of Voldemort's top players cut through the leaves song. She removed the cloak and hid it beneath a tree, knowing it will not be found by untrustworthy hands. Moonlight gave a bluish sheen to midnight hair and flashed in emerald eyes. Visible skin was as white as the moon, marred only by a single lightning shaped scar on her forehead. She made her way gracefully toward the camp, her hands steady and her head held high. As she entered the camp everyone fell silent.

As she walked through the snake pit she spotted Mrs. Malfoy. Unlike the others she looked terrified, her eyes were wide with fear, fear for her son. Mrs. Malfoy's eyes widen even further when she spotted her. All eyes were fixed on her as she made her way toward him. His eyes were red as the blood on the battlefield, his deathly white skin crinkled around his eyes as he sneered at her.

" Ah! Ariella! It seems you did receive my invitation. I was wondering if you were even going to show.", said Voldemort as he stood up. He walked toward Ariella, he tried to read her but could not see past his own reflection in her glasses.

" Here I am Tom. What are you waiting for?", asked Ariella with her arms wide open.

" Don't call me that! That filthy name!", snarled Voldemort, his eyes glowing as her whipped out his wand and pointed it at her. Ariella didn't flinch, she just stared blankly at him, which seemed to anger him even more. With one last snarl he shouted and the deathly green light flicked from his wand and rushed toward her. She met it with calm reserve, she felt her feet leave the ground as the spell hit her and then there was nothing but white.

Ariella took in her surroundings; it looked like a train station all painted in white. She soon noticed that she was not alone, there was a beautiful young woman sitting patiently on a bench halfway down the station. Her blonde hair seemed to fall around her head like a halo and her blue eyes were as clear as the sky above. Her white dress was simple but pretty and it seemed to give her skin a warm glow. Ariella just stood there feeling unsure in her army green T-shirt and green plaid over shirt, ripped blue jeans and scuffed sneakers. Suddenly the woman looked at her and Ariella felt warm and safe for the first time in a long time. The woman smiled and beckoned her over. Ariella walked over and stood in front of the woman.

"So we finally get to meet face to face sister. Come sit, we have much to talk about.", said the woman as she patted the seat next to her. Ariella took the seat and turned to look at the woman.

"I am sorry, I don't mean to be rude but; who are you and why do you call me sister?", asked a confused Ariella.

The woman chuckled and said, "Oh forgive me for not introducing myself. My name is under Andraste and as to why I have called you sister is that our spirits are similar. I guess you could say that I am you and that you are me but we are still separate and different yet one and the same."

" Ok. That is really confusing.", said Ariella even more confused.

" I know it is, it is a little confusing to me as well.", said Andraste, her eyes crinkled in suppressed mirth.

" I am dead right?", Ariella asked suddenly.

"Yes and no.", replied Andraste. Ariella sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"If I'm not dead and in the afterlife where am I?", she asked.

"You are in the place between life and death. It is like a waiting room or a buffer zone between the living world and the world beyond. In my world we call this the fade, though I must admit that your fade is much nicer and more orderly than my world's fade. Anyway, you are at a crossroad right now, you have a choice to move onto the beyond or to go back and face the rest of your destiny.", explained Andraste.

"The rest of my destiny! I thought I had just fulfilled it!", shouted Ariella as she jumped up and threw her arms up into the air. "I mean how many nineteen year olds go off to their deaths and all they can think about is; Man! I can't wait for the peace and quiet of death because I am just sick and tired of being the one everyone looks to!" Andraste just stared at her sadly.

"I know how that feels Ariella. I know how it feels to be chosen for a task that should be impossible. How everyone looks to you because they believe that you have all the answers. Or to have everything you have fought for turn into the very thing you fought against. To feel the sting of betrayal by the one person you trusted the most in life. I know this and you have no idea how much it pains me to tell you that you have to go back and face even more of it.", said Andraste as a tear trailed down her cheek. Ariella calmed down and felt ashamed, she sat back down and pondered on what she had just heard.

"You mentioned that in your world that this place is called the fade. What did you mean by that?", Ariella asked.

"I am not from your world Ariella. I was sent here to act as a counselor and guide for you. After your battle with Voldemort a new chapter in your life will begin. You will be sent to my world where things are very different from your own. You could say that my world is younger and more primitive than your own. There the magic people wield is different, where your get your magic from your own energy and from the natural energy from the world around you, people of my world get their magic from the fade. In this world when people sleep they stay within their own bodies, retreating into their subconsios. In my world when people sleep they go into the fade to dream and some people are aware of the fade and can use the energy from the fade in the living world. The people who are aware are the magic users.", said Andraste.

"Why am I being sent there if I am so different from the people there? What can I possibly do?", asked Ariella.

"You can bring a new perspective to the world. When I was alive magic ruled most of the continent and as you know, absolute power corrupts absolutely. The majority of the rulers was cruel and used dark magic to further their own agendas. I was a slave and I was chosen to overthrow them. I conquered most of the south when my earthly husband betrayed me to the enemy, the Tivinter Imperium. I was burned at the stake. People began to follow my teachings and for a time there was an unsteady equality between mages and non-mages, but unfoutnetly people cannot forgive old sins and the Chantry began to surrpress the mages the same way the mages surrpressed them. The Chantry that was built in the Maker's name is now being used to suppress some of his children. They cannot find the balance between one extreme and the other. Though people do have a reason to fear mages in that world. Unlike your world where anyone can become possessed by a demon, in fact the people without magic are at more risk than those with magic, mages in my world are the only one who can become possessed because of their connection to the fade. They can even force those without magic to become possessed. Then of course there is dark magic, like blood magic. It is my hope, and it is also the Maker's, that when that powder keg finally explodes that you will be the voice of reason in the sea of chaos.", explained Andraste.

"Why me?", asked Ariella forlornly.

"Because some people were born to do the impossible. You are one of those people.", replied Andraste. Ariella hung her head. One weight was lifted form her shoulders only to be replaced with a heavier one. Suddenly a thought struck her.

"I have a question. It's not related to this other world business. What happened to the part of Voldemort's soul that was attached to mine?", asked Ariella.

Andraste stood up and gestured for her to follow her. They walked over to the other end of the platform where Andraste stopped and pointed. Ariella followed her finger and saw a barrier, were white ended darkness began. Then she saw him, a grotesque creature full of anger and hate, flinging itself against the barrier. Ariella took a step back.

"Do not worry, he cannot break though. He will stay there to repent for the sins he has committed in life.", said Andraste as she looked down at Ariella. It was then that Ariella noticed their height differences. Ariella knew that she was shorter than she was supposed to be due to malnutrion early on in life and she was a little self-conscious of this. She was snapped out of her thoughts when Andraste addressed her again.

"So what is your choice? Will you move on or go back?", she asked. Ariella took a look around thinking, she looked up and gave a great sigh. She looked at Andraste and shook her head.

"If I moved on now I will never have a peaceful afterlife. Sure, I'll do it.", said Ariella. Andraste smiled sadly, walked over and took Ariella's hands in hers.

"When you go back I would have given you some information on my world so you will not be completely lost. Now until we meet again my sister." said Andraste as she bent forward and kissed Ariella on her forehead.

The next thing Ariella knew was that the whiteness was gone and that she could hear the faint beat of her heart in her ears and the cold ground beneath her cheek.

"Narssisa. Go and check on how the little savior is doing?", ordered Voldemort.

'Oh crap! I get sent back only to be killed right away. How perfect! I can't even move my arms or legs yet. They are still heavy with being dead a few minutes ago. How am I supposed to get myself out of this one Andraste?", Ariella thought frantically. Narrsissa knelt by her and put her head by hers. Ariella held her breath, but what happened next surprise her.

"Is he alive? Is my Draco alive?", breathed Narsissa next to her ear. A recent memory flashed in Ariella's head. A frightened Draco hidden in a corner at the school, terrified at the site of what comrades were doing. He was alive when she had last seen him.

"Yes" she breathed softly.

"She's dead!", announced Narsissa to the others.

"No!", a voice cried out in pain. That voice sent a jolt of fear through her. ' What is he doing here? He I told him stay with the other teachers and students, to help them. Why didn't he listen?' she thought frantically.

"Ah! Serverus! You have fallen from my favor only to ally yourself with mudbloods and blood traitors. How disappointing.", said Voldemort. Ariella felt herself being pulled into Snape's arms at held her close.

"What is this Serverus? You look like a father who just lost his child.", laughed Voldemort. The laughter of the death eaters cut Serverus like a knife. In the beginning he had tried to convince himself that she was just female version of her father. But her eyes, her eyes were Lily's. Big, innocent and pure and it was not just her eyes that Lily gave her. She was more her mother than her father, no matter what anyone else said. So he made a promise to protect Lily's daughter no matter what. He defied Dumbledore and sent Ariella into hiding, but Ariella just had to be so noble. He failed her and he failed Lily.

"Come Serverus. Pick her up, we need to show everyone that it is pointless to keep fighting, that there so-called savior is dead.", said Voldemort as Serverus was forced to his feet with Ariella heavy in his arms. He was marched out of the forest to the battlefield. Ariella felt something wet hit her cheek as they came closer to the carnage. When the second drop hit she realized that Snape was crying. She wished that she could somehow tell him that she was alive, but although her limbs were slowly getting stronger she felt that if she gave herself away right now Snape could lose his life. So she kept still, biding her time. When they reached the killing field the sound of battle slowly dwindled as people spotted them. There were gasps and cries of sorrow at the sight of a lifeless Ariella in Snape's arms.

"You see! You see how fruitless your resistance is! Your savior is dead! Surrender, you have no hope!", cried Voldemort in triumph. The people just stood there in shock, even Voldemort's followers were amazed to see the great Ariella Potter hanging limp. Suddenly Voldemort took an un-dignified nosedive for word, covered in blood that was not his own. Voldemort heard a sickly lot next to him, his eyes widened in shock and anger at the sight of his headless snake. Voldemort whipped around to see who had just slaughtered his pet.

A pair of level brown eyes set it in dark skin met his gaze head on. Are you didn't have to lift her head to see what it was, she gave her, her family sword before going to face Voldemort. She knew Jasmine was the only one brave enough and stubborn enough to go toe to toe with Voldemort. Ariella let her wand drop from her sleeve where she had hidden it. It was almost time, she could feel it. Before Voldemort could utter a single syllable of a spell Ariella struck.

"Exparlliamis!", she shouted and Voldemort was thrusted backwards.

"Umm… Snape… You can put me down now.", said Ariella.

"You! You!", stuttered Snape.

"I'm sorry, but I'll have to explain everything later! I have some unfinished business to attend to!", called Ariella as she ran toward Jasmine.

"You little trickster! When this is all over I'm going to tan your hide!", Jasmine shouted at her when she reached her side, " And take your damn sword! It's so heavy I don't know how you can swing that thing with such ease!" Ariella had just enough time to grab the sword when Voldemort got to his feet.

"Don't you ever just die!", he snarled.

"I could ask the same of you!", Ariella shouted back and with those last words chaos erupted around them. Ariella closed everything out. Her focus was solely on the demon in front of her. Gryffindor's sword hummed in her hand, as if it could sense the upcoming battle. Voldemort fired off a curse and Ariella deflected it with her sword and took her chance to move in closer. Unfortunately Voldemort recovered from his shock just in time to dodge the sword's blade. Ariella focused her magic to the sword's blade and then swept the sword at Voldemort letting loose the magic. Voldemort started to dodge the magical energy but was not fast enough; the magic hit him in his left leg, severing it from the knee down.

Voldemort let out a shriek of pain, but in his pain he got out a lucky shot and Ariella was thrown backwards with a large cut from her left shoulder to her right hip. The wound wasn't deep enough to cause severe damage but deep enough to scar and it burned like it was on fire. Ariella stumbled up and gritted her teeth against the pain and focused her magic on the blade once again. Voldemort may have been down at the moment and severely off balance, but he was still alive and therefore still a serious threat. She charged him and for and instant she saw his eyes, full of hatred and darkness, before she brought down the sword's humming blade down upon his neck. The magic enhanced blade cut though skin and bone like a hot knife through butter. The light from the fires caused by the battle outlined Voldemort's head as it arched into the air, landing with a sickening thud a few feet away.

Silence settled across the battle zone like a heavy blanket. The sight of Voldemort's headless corpse started to sink into everyone's mind. The man, the creature, who had caused so much terror and death, was dead. He was actually dead, soul and all.

The stillness was broken when Voldemort's followers broke apart. Some were trying to escape, some did not know what to do and some of his most fanatic followers went ballistic. The fanatics started to fight tooth and nail against the now winning forces.

Ariella herself was attacked from behind from one of these fanatics. She rounded on her attacker and held her sword in front of her. She did not recognize this Death Eater, but that did not surprise her. Voldemort had gathered many followers during her four year absence. The man's eyes were wide and crazy. He let out a mad scream and launched himself at her, seeming to forget he was holding a wand in his madness. He was halfway through his leap when a curse slammed into him and he went flying, a trail of blood following him. Ariella looked over at the source of the curse and saw Snape striding toward her. When he reached her he swept her into a bone crunching hug.

"You foolish, foolish girl." he whispered softly against her hair, "You never listen to me. You just had to go off and play hero. When this is over I am locking you in the tallest tower on the tallest mountain top for all time. Just to save you from your own stupidity."

Ariella just stood there blinking owlishly. It was then she started to feel a little light headed and it was then Snape felt something sticky covering his hands. He held one of them up in front of his face and saw that the stickiness was Ariella's blood. When the fanatic attacked her he managed to hit her with a good cutting curse and with all the adrenalin running though her veins she did not notice it. Ariella blinked up at Snape as she slumped in his arms. Snape quickly laid her down and started to try to stop the bleeding.

"Help! Someone help!" Snape called franticly. Snape cursed himself for his lack of ability in healing spells. He searched his pockets for a blood replenishing potion or anything that might help. Snape then heard scrambling on Ariella's other side and looked up to see Jasmine checking Ariella's pulse. She then started to poke at and analyze her wounds.

Jasmine's mind was in overdrive as she looked over her friend. She took deep breaths as she tried to remember what she had learned in her one year of medical school. So far she knew she was dealing with two different cutting curses. The one across her chest and stomach was shallow and bled little, it was meant to cause a lot of pain, not cause severe damage. The second one she was most concerned with. The wound was much smaller than the first but it was deeper and it was meant to make the victim bleed out. Not only that, the curse made healing difficult.

Ariella heard Snape and Jasmine talking above her. Her eyesight became fuzzy and out of focus as she slowly slipped into unconsciousness, until everything went black.

The air smelt sterile and her body felt heavy. She cracked and eyelid open and took in her surroundings. Through fuzzy vision, she saw what looked like a privet hospital room. By chance, a healer opened the door and spotted that she was awake.

"Oh, Miss. Potter! Good you're awake. Now just let me check on your vitals, and then I can inform Mr. Snape.", said the healer as she started to examine her. When she was finished she left to get Snape. As Ariella waited she looked around and spotted her glasses on the night stand. She just put them on when Snape came striding in.

"What the hell were you thinking! You run off when I told you not to, you almost get yourself killed doing that. Then when I thought you were dead you pop up in my arms and say "Oh. I have some unfinished business. I'll explain everything later!" and then you go off again and when I finally find you again, you somehow managed to get hit by a few cutting curses and not seem to notice that you lost a significant amount of blood until you pass out! Nearly giving me a heart attack!" said a still frantic Snape.

"I'm fine now. Thank you for asking." said Ariella calmly. For a second it looked like Snape was going to go off on another rant, but he just let out a big sigh and sat down next to her.

"Soooo. What happened after I passed out?" Ariella asked.

"Shortly after things started to calm down. Your friend, Jasmine, is a very talented healer. She managed to keep you alive until help arrived. She used up a lot of her energy trying to counter act that curse that hit your back. The head healer here ordered her to bed rest. She did not take that well. She is a very stubborn young woman." replied Snape.

"How long will I have to be in here?" asked Ariella.

"A few more days and don't even try to sneak out. The place is not only heavily guarded by aorors, but also reporters. So it would be pretty hard for you to sneak out." said Snape. Ariella looked down sheepishly. She was notorious when it came to sneaking out of the infirmary at both her schools. Snape stayed for a few more hours until the head healer shooed him out. Next week found Ariella being smuggled out of the hospital by her friends to avoid the reporters. When they reached her house she was met with a surprise. Ron and Hermione were there waiting for her, with smiles and greetings.

Ariella never believed that Ron and Hermione could ever forgive her for running, but surprisingly they understood, even Ron. Hermione put in logical terms saying that at the time Ariella fled she couldn't have possibly have defeated Voldemort and that the time she was in hiding she had learned many things that helped her get stronger. They spent their time catching up with each other that night until they went to bed. But when everyone was asleep Ariella got up and grabbed a satchel and a backpack, both having extending charms put on them and she started to pack some essentsals and some non-essentials. When she was in the library she was startled by a voice behind her.

"I knew you were up to something." said Jasmine as she walked into the library with Hermione behind her.

"Now what makes you say that?" asked Ariella as she tried to hide the bags behind her back. Both Jasmine and Hermione gave her a look. Ariella looked between both of them trying to come up with something, but looking at them she knew she had to tell the truth.

"Alright! I'll tell you what I'm doing", she sighed. Ariella told both of them what happened a week ago. When she was finished Hermione's brow was crinkled in thought and Jasmine was rubbing her temples.

"You just don't know how to stay out of trouble do you." said Jasmine. Ariella just gave a helpless shrug. Hermione looked at her and shook her head.

"Why didn't you tell us earlier? You always think that you have to do things by yourself." Hermione said as she stood up in a huff and walked to the bookshelves.

"You want to know what's wrong with her. I'll tell you what I have been saying for the past four years. She's insane, plain and simple." said Jasmine as she too stood up in a huff and went over to the bookshelves.

"Ummm. What are you doing?" asked Ariella.

"Helping you. I'm your friend and I'm going to help you as much as I can before you go." said Hermione as she looked through some books she picked off the shelves.

"Trying to find any good medical books for you. You may know all the pressure points on the human body, but you know squat about healing It.", said Jasmine as she pulled out a book.

The girls spent the next week going through books and supplies. Eventually Snape and Ron found out. Ron was the easiest to convince, Snape on the other hand once again threatened to lock her in a tower on a mountain top. But he eventually came around, more or less.

"Um, Ariella, how are you going to get there?" Ron asked one day.

"I have it all planned out Ron and sorry but I can't tell you." said Ariella

Two weeks after the fall of Voldemort, Ariella said her good-byes to her friends. For the past two weeks she had been having a reoccurring dream of a field about three miles away from her house. When she reached the field she got out of her car and walked to the middle of the field and sat down. It was in the evening and the sun was setting and as it sank closer to the horizon the wind picked up. Ariella watched the sun as it slowly disappeared and as the last rays of light were being swallowed by the darkness there was a flash of white light that blinded her.

The next thing she knew was that she was flouting in a sea of white and in front of her was Andraste.

"Are you ready my sister?" asked Andraste.

"I wouldn't be here if I wasn't.", replied Ariella with a grin. Andraste raised her eyebrows at her response.

"Sorry. I've been told that I can have a smart mouth sometimes." said Ariella rubbing the back of her head and smiling. Andraste just hummed and smiled.

"Now I have given you the basic information that you will need, but I'm afraid that I don't know much about the city you will be going to. I know of its past but what its current state is, I don't know. So in order to gather information about the city without being noticed you are going to be sent in your animagi form. Only for a little while will you be stuck in that form." said Andraste.

"Oh, that's just great", muttered Ariella as she thought of her black Angora cat form.

"You will be able to chance back when you meet a woman named Flemeth. Just be careful when you talk to her.", said Andraste, "Until we meet again Ariella." She bent and kissed Ariella's forehead and there was another white flash.

Ariella woke up to a rising sun just outside a large city. She stood and stretched her legs and shook out her fur.

'Well here goes nothing', she thought as she trotted toward the city of Kirkwall. Unfourunetly for her she did not know of the dangers of the Wounded Coast and as she traversed the sand paths she stumbled upon a small group of hungry mercenaries. Before she knew what was happening, she was snatched up. She let out a yowl of pain and started to scratch, bite and spit at her attackers. She managed to get free of the man who was holding her, but found her path blocked by another. She was looking around for another way out when she saw another man running at her. But before she could react the man was shot down by an energy bolt. When she turned around she saw that three other mercenaries were frozen solid and the last remaining man was brought down by another energy bolt. The source of this magic she found was a blond haired man in a robe with feathers on the shoulders. He was approaching her slowly with his hands up and he was making soft soothing noises.

"There, there now. I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to see if you are ok." said the man as he picked her up. His touch was gentle as he carefully looked her over for any injuries. When he was satisfied that she was alright he turned her around to face him. He was handsome, she noticed, he had golden eyes and a bit of a stubble.

"Hello there. Don't you have pretty eyes." he said with a smile, "Why don't you come with me, you'll be safer that way." After that he snuggled her close to his chest, the feathers on his robe tickled her nose, and he started to walk to Kirkwall.


End file.
